


double date

by nadia5803



Series: vampires are cool sometimes [2]
Category: Original Work
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-13 12:20:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29278341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nadia5803/pseuds/nadia5803
Summary: edel doesn’t like sujani’s boyfriend.
Series: vampires are cool sometimes [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2111115
Kudos: 1





	double date

The sun had just barely set, but Edel was busy working away at the theatre’s lobby; stringing up lights, watering the plants, lighting the candles, cleaning away the blood, the usual cleanup checklist. With all the ruckus coming from Edel’s radio of whistled showtunes and the sound of hurried housekeeping taking place, Mia appeared in the doorway. She was dressed modestly in a corset and skirt that dropped to her heels, her hair up and traces of blood beneath her lips. “What in the name of— are you doing?” she asked, rubbing her head with a yawn.

Edel beamed, fully dressed, with petticoat, makeup, and all. “Didn’t I remind you yesterday?” they asked, lifting the sides of their gown and prancing to Mia. “Sujani’s love is coming over today. She’s introducing him to me. Is that blood on your face? Make sure you clean it, you’ll scare the poor man.”

“Sujani’s love, huh?” Mia thumbed beneath her lip and raised an eyebrow. “Well, does he know?”

“Know what?” Edel looked up from their busywork, wide-eyed and oblivious. 

“Does he know about the—“ Mia gesticulated and threw up her hands. “The vampirism?”

“Oh! Oh. I’m not sure. Best not bring it up. Just to be safe,” Edel replied, twirling the broom she held and resisting the urge to strike some Fosse-esque pose. “You can come out if you’d like to say hi. Maral and Libera know too, but they’re off doing lines in the mezzanine.”

Mia tilted her head. “And the rest of the cast?”

“Laundry, props, helping Igor with the set, cleaning the apron, the like...” Edel replied, tending to a spiderweb in the corner. “I don’t want anyone eating him, so I’m trying to have them all occupied. Sujani made it very clear she will be very upset if her beau gets devoured. And then who will manage our stage if she is upset with me? This has to run very smoothly. You see? So, my dear, if some lost-looking breather is wandering through the halls, please redirect him here. No blood-sucking involved, preferably.”

“And no hypnotism, right?” 

Edel turned around, leaning the broom against the wall and wrapping their arms around Mia’s waist. “No hypnotism, promise.” The couple linked pinkies and Mia rested her head on Edel’s chest.

“Alright. Be safe, dear. Check for stakes, crucifixes, the like...” she sighed, pushing her hair behind her ear. “We don’t want any guest appearances.” Giving Edel a kiss on the cheek, she unlinked her hand and started down the hall. “I best get dressed, too. Perhaps I’ll show up when I’m prim and proper. Make it a double date, as they call it these days, hm?” 

Flashing a fanged grin, Edel nodded with excitement. “Oh, please do! Double date,” they repeated, eyes sparkling. “Please, you’ll look radiant. Love you,” Edel called as Mia vanished down the hallway. 

Alone and back in the grandiose lobby, Edel continued to tend to the dust bunnies around the lobby, humming some musical jingles underneath her breath. As she got stuck replaying the songs of Les Mis in her mind, her eyes flitted to the clock. Fifteen minutes until 8’o’clock! Oh goodness, darling Sujani would be arriving any moment. Gathering the cleaning supplies and taking one last look around the lobby, Edel hurried back to the stage to dispose of the swiped supplies. The door slammed behind them as they entered the backstage, and a few heads downstage were turned. 

“Eeeeedel!” Pasha called out, bouncing upstage and meeting Edel’s side. “Can I take those off your hands?” he asked, batting his childlike eyes. 

“Sure,” Edel muttered, smiling down at him. “Please remember. Don’t start wandering. Sujani is bringing a guest with her tonight.”

“Ooh, a guest!” Olga interjected, sticking her head up from the catwalk. “A guest of what sort? A prince? Duke, maybe? The President?”

“No, her boyfriend. And, and, please don’t drop those 2x4’s, Olga,” Edel shouted, waving their arms. 

Olga signaled a salute and nearly dropped the wooden planks, managing to narrowly avoid an accident with the flyweights. “I didn’t know Miss Sujani had a boyfriend,” Pasha said, saccharine. 

“No, you cannot eat him. No, you cannot play some childish prank on him. Whatever your next question is, the answer is no. Alright? I’ll give you a candy later, or something,” Edel mumbled, booping Pasha on the nose and ruffling his hair. 

“I can’t eat candy,” he maintained.

Edel exhaled, exasperated. “A book, then.”

“Books are boring!”

“One with illustrations,” she said with a wave of her hand, disappearing back in the direction of the lobby. 

As Edel reentered, briefly admiring their handiwork, a bell chimed at the box office and sent them peeling down the hallway.

“Sujani! Sujani, darling! I’m so glad you’ve come!” Edel announced, bursting in through the threshhold with a wide grin and open arms. Sujani, relaxed and smiling, was dressed in her usual fare— a simple green sweater, a long skirt, Oxfords. Her hair was nice and curled and Edel noted the use of false eyelashes, something Sujani seldom indulged in. Her eyeliner was nonetheless bold. As Edel’s eyes met her guest, however, the color (or lack thereof) drained from her face. “I know you,” Edel mumbled, enthusiasm dying. Her eyes trailed back to Sujani, and she glared. “ _ Luca Betschen _ ?  _ The _ Luca Betschen, of all men in this city crawling with them?”

Luca Betschen, standing opposite Sujani, with her hand around his waist and his around hers, was a short and plucky little man. His hair was curly and brown, and he had the most lovely, enticing young eyes, and was ruggedly handsome despite his unfortunate smallness. And Edel knew his face very, very well.

The Theatre has a strange relationship with the Press. The Theatre can function just fine independent of the Press, but their relationship is reciprocal. The Press is a necessary predator in the ecosystem in the fine arts, regulating the bad and safeguarding the good. But as hundreds of years pass by, between the un-dead and the living, tastes tend to change, and perceptions of otherwise fine Theatre may appeared skewed. A six-hundred year disparity, as one could imagine, would intensify these critical differences. Luca Betschen, a fresh-faced journalist at some irrelevant, wretched, Winterthur newspaper, embodies it. One ruthless review two years ago on Edel’s production of  _ The Seagull  _ has left them burning ever since. “Contrary to the beliefs of archaic director Edelgard Veice,” Betschen wrote, “Chekov’s works are better left boring and lifeless, not thrown into a kitschy, unexplainably Tudor delirium of color and light.”

She spotted his face in the audience opening night a year ago, received another scathing review, and has been plotting her revenge over her production. And now, that wretched man stands in front of her, alongside her darling Sujani, of all people! Sujani has no time to respond before Edel, seething, retreats back into the lobby. “I am retracting my gracious invitation!”

“Miss Edel—”

“Get him out of here!” Edel roared, stomping down the hallway in her one-inch heels. 

Two humans stand in the box office of a vampire nest, hands linked. It’s a hot summer evening in one of Europe’s most beautiful cities, tourists bustling on the streets and the stars shining above. “Shall we just... go?” Luca asked, clearing his throat. “I hope I haven’t upset her. That was certainly not my intention.”

Sujani shrugged her shoulders and peeked down the hall into the lobby, and then at the door marked  _ Employees Only _ that led to the backstage. “Edel... tends to hold grudges for a long time. She’ll warm up to you eventually,” she insisted with another lukewarm shrug. “Hopefully.”

***

The sound of Edel’s heels clicking on the theatre floor echoed loud and clear disapproval through the walls of the theatre. She stormed past the auditorium, stomping with irate force, and up to the dressing rooms, up another flight of stairs, to where Mia should be. And, without a hint of hesitation, she slammed her fist down on the door, knocking the ancient oak with unrelenting fury. Mia swung the door open, doing up her corset, eyes wide as Edel stumbled back. “What’s wrong? Shouldn’t you be with Sujani? And her… human love-friend?”

Edel slammed the door behind them and dropped down in one of Mia’s empty seat, bristling with rage and chewing on her lip. 

“Edel…?”

“Do you remember,” Edel began, heated, “when that pathetic little Winterthur paper smeared my good name? That 2.5 star review? You must remember.”

“Uh, was that  _ The Seagull _ , or  _ Romeo and Juliet _ , or  _ Anything Goes _ ?”

Edel was silent. 

“No,  _ Anything Goes _ was one star,” Mia murmured, returning to the ribbons on her corset. When she looked up, Edel’s face was hidden in their hands. “Oh, dear.”

“She’s dating that bloody critic! That wretched critic! And they will marry and reproduce and my darling Sujani will bear wretched little critic children. Oh, Mia, I don’t know what to do! My reputation as a host will turn more repugnant than my critical reviews if I turn him away, and I will break my darling Sujani’s heart, but I can’t stand the thought of inviting him into this sacred place! This sacred place he’s desecrated!” Edel burst back into tears, taking a bloody handkerchief from Mia’s desk and blotting her running makeup.

“Don’t use that hanky…” Mia scratched her head and placed her hands on Edel’s shoulders, then leaned forward and placed her head in the nape of their neck. “My dear dead thespian. You are a wonderful host, a wonderful director, a theatrical icon, with wonderful ideas, productions… Why are you letting some breather spit on you? He’s just a breather. And you are an immortal being capable of flight, shapeshifting, and hypnosis who could suck all of the blood out of him instantly. Just some critic. And nobody cares about Winterthur, anyways. Screw Winterthur.” Mia lifted her hands off of Edel’s shoulders, working her first layer of ballgown up the crinoline hoopskirt. “Show him who’s boss. Show him those lovely host skills of yours. You worked so hard on that setup. And I saw you baking those cookies last night. See, you’re thoughtful, clever, and much better than he could ever be. No review will ever determine that.” 

“Mmm. I love you.” Edel said, rising to her feet and kissing Mia on the lips, cupping her hands around her face and touching their foreheads together. Stretching out a gloved hand, she smiled and pushed the door back open. “Come with me to the breather guests?”

“Certainly.”

***

The humans had, perhaps unwisely, let themselves into the theatre. Sujani kept glancing around the many hallways, praying to catch a possible vampire before it could catch blissfully unaware Luca. He was stuffing his face with a few of the store-bought human luxuries that Edel had purchased. “Are you alright? You seem uneasy.”

Sujani shook her head and smiled. “Not exactly your idea of a date night. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it. I feel underdressed, seeing Miss Veice in that ballgown. That’s gorgeous. Where did she get it?” he mused. “Anyhow, I didn't really notice how beautiful this theatre is. I don’t really have the time to sit around and enjoy it when I’m here, but the architecture’s lovely.” Sheepishly, he looked down one of the halls. “May I see the auditorium?”

Sujani briefly considered a future where a mob of hungry vampires sicked themselves on her helpless boyfriend, and shook her head. “Probably not a good idea.”

“Why not?”

It was a fair question. “Technical things…” she started. 

“Without a director or a stage manager?” Luca asked, confused.

“Uh…” 

Fortunately, the sound of four heels clicking on the ground interrupted the conversation, and Edel and Mia appeared in the doorway. Edel smoothed her ballgown and grinned weakly as Sujani got to her feet. “My darling Sujani,” Edel began, wrapping Sujani in a tight hug and then turning her attention to Luca. She looked him up and down, and stuck out a hand. He took it, smiling shyly. “Mr. Betschen,” she said, tilting her head. “I must love you, and suit to know you better.”

“ _ King Lear _ ,” he correctly identified. “I shall study deserving.”

Edel eyed Sujani with reluctant approval, and patted Luca on the shoulder. She waved Mia over, who stretched out her hand to Luca. “Mia Kleinmann, my producer and my lover.” 

“Mr. Betschen,” Mia said, taking his hand. “Sujani,” she greeted with a nod.

“I apologize,” Edel said, “for the rough opening. I’m happy to have you in the Theatre with me, Mr. Betschen, and I’m happy to finally meet you.”

“Please, call me Luca,” he said, taking a seat back in his chair. “I adore your ballgown. It’s so classic! It looks like a true regency classic. Yours too, Miss Kleinnman! I feel a bit underdressed, I must admit. Oh, thank you for inviting us. Sujani was dying for me to meet you.”

“Really?” Edel asked, eyeing Sujani as she forked a burnt tea cake in her mouth.

“Mhm,” she confirmed, mouth full. “Thought I’d try and ease the waters a bit, no?”

“I suppose. Nonetheless,” Edel said, drawing the curtains shut. “Pleased to have you with us, Luca. You seem a proper young man for my darling Sujani. Well-read on theatre…” She sighed and took a seat beside Mia, linking their hands together. “You know your stuff. Now, did you know I’m a playwright myself?”

“Oh? Tell me more,” Luca said, popping another tea cake in his mouth and handing one to Edel. They politely declined with a wave.

“Well—” Sujani interjected. “You know, I wanted to bring this up to you earlier, Miss Edel, but did you know Luca and I actually met after  _ The Seagull _ ?” She linked her hand with Luca, who grinned.

Edel raised her eyebrows and shook her head and Sujani continued, twirling her hair. “Opening night cast party. Met him in this very lobby and he took me for a drink down the street. Couldn’t change his mind on the production, though,” she said, elbowing him. 

“The wheel is come full circle… Also  _ King Lear _ ,” he noted.

“Sujani’s third production with me,” Edel mused. “And now her eighth! Stage managing, set construction, lighting design. A real  _ wünderkind _ .”

“And a wonderful costumier,” Mia added.

“You’re one lucky gentleman,” said Edel.

“Treat her right!” Mia chirped.

Sujani grinned and rocked Luca back and forth. “Oh, he’s just a gentleman. So very polite. And I love a man who loves the Theatre.”

“I live for the Theatre. Oh, I’m just some lousy critic. I hope one day I can go on the stage again,” he said, taking Sujani’s hand.

“Again, you say?” Edel asked, fiddling with her necklace.

He smiled sheepishly. “I was in some productions in grade school, and college. Mostly Shakespeare-related. I suppose I’m more techie-inclined, though, like Sujani.”

Edel brightened. “Well, you simply must try out for one of our Shakespeare productions! After my original play is staged, though. I try to cast unknowns, and broaden the scope of my casting, and—”

“Maybe not, though,” Mia said quickly.

“Yeah, maybe not,” Sujani continued, tilting her head towards a confused Luca. “Just because Edel has been thinking of staging more original plays as of late!”

“But we’ll give you a call when the Bard shows his face around here again,” Mia said with a wave. “I love producing Shakespeare. So classic.” 

“Yes, so classic.” Sujani said, popping two cookies in her mouth and letting out a relieved sigh.

“Right,” Luca commented. “I’d love to be in a show again. Get a taste of your direction style from the inside. Because it’s truly unique, and very interesting,” he said, shooting a nod at Edel.

Edel cleared their throat and nodded. “Well, it’s been great,”

“Um, what?”

“It’s been great, Luca. But, erm, I think Sujani and I have some blocking to look over!” Edel said, getting to her feet. “May I walk you out?”

“I’m his ride, Edel…” Sujani said, rubbing her forehead.

“Then l will go over the blocking and you’ll look over it tomorrow! Go! Get some sleep! You hu— busy people!” Edel waved her hands and started to the door, ballgown bouncing behind them.

“Alright? Well, thank you,” Luca said, a bit startled as he hurried out, hand linked with Sujani. 

“Why don’t you two visit that bar you went to? After The Seagull. Take a quick trip down memory lane! Oh, my darling Sujani,” Edel said, taking Sujani’s free hand. “May I have a word?”

Sujani looked back at Luca who shifted his weight and gestured back to the box office. Edel pulled Sujani inside and Mia appeared in the door. Luca hid his hands behind his back and stared at the pavement. 

“You haven’t told him?” Edel asked. 

“No?” Sujani replied, sticking her hands in her pockets. “I’m not trying to scare him off with mad ravings of vampires and the undead. I’m not doing that with him.”

“You best tell him soon,” Mia commented. “Before he figures it out. Is he into the supernatural, by any chance?”

“Not that I know of,” Sujani said. “Look, I don’t know. I’ve kept it from him this long. Well, we only started dating recently. After  _ Anything Goes _ .”

“ _ Anything Goes _ ? Jesus. That was one star, I thought,” Mia muttered.

“Yeah, couldn’t change his mind on it. Trust me, I tried.”

Edel crossed their arms and huffed indignantly. “Well, please do tell him. Sooner, rather than later. Or just let him find out on his own. Just make sure he doesn’t have any stakes lying around. Or homemade crucifixes.”

“He’s Jewish,” Sujani replied.

“Well, still.” Edel uncrossed her arms. “Take care of it. And see me about the blocking tomorrow. Okay? I’ll see you around, my darling Sujani.”

The vampires disappeared into the lobby and Sujani exited the theatre, taking Luca’s hand. He kissed her on the cheek and tilted his head to the marquee. “They’re kinda odd, aren’t they?”

“I never noticed it.”

He pointed at the lights on the marquee, dazzling and untouched since their installation in the 1970s. “You should tell Miss Edel to turn that off. That must be a sizable electricity bill.”

“Nothing we can’t handle, I’m sure,” she said, resting her head on his shoulder and kissing him on top of his head. “Thanks for putting up with me, Theatre Kid. Want a drink?”

“For sure,” he said, kissing her back on the cheek. Taking each others‘ hands, they started down the street, the lights of the theatre behind them.


End file.
